NEWS

At Towson University’s Diversity Awareness Workshop: Focus on Autism February 5, Anthony Ianni shared his three keys to success of motivation, hard work and support with the audience that included student-athletes, Towson students, campus administrators, and members of the Towson community. “Live your dreams and accomplish every goal you’re going to have in life,” he shared. “Be relentless and attack them. There’s 3.5 million people with autism. I put them on my back every day because the ASD community needs a voice. You can’t be afraid to fail or of failure in life. It will eat at you. Do you what you want to do in life. Make an impact and leave an impact.” Read the article by Towson...

Purpose2Play asked MDCR’s own Anthony Ianni to write about who inspires him. He writes: “Growing up, my inspirations and heroes were always changing because I loved that people are not one-dimensional and are capable of achieving success in different areas of life. For example, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is another person who I idolize. He’s a guy who went from being the greatest WWE wrestler to becoming the world’s highest paid actor, and along the way, really showed me how hard work pays off. As a motivational speaker, I try to stay on that level from a working perspective, inspiring as many people as I can. But, there’s only one true inspiration in my life aside my two-year-old son, Knox. This person is someone I have looked up to since day one. This person, who with the help of my mom, pushed me to the limit every day and encouraged me to be great at everything I did. Whether it was basketball, school or just being a great all-around person, this man taught me to give my all in everything that I did. And, that person is my father, Greg Ianni.” Read his full story on who inspires him...

“The change starts with each and every single one of you here,” said Anthony Ianni, member of Michigan State University’s 2010 and 2012 Big Ten Champion and Tournament Championship teams, as he spoke to dozens of middle school students Jan. 12 at West Village Academy in Dearborn. And as the students sat patiently on the basketball court inside the school’s gymnasium listening to Ianni speak on a rainy Thursday morning, the battle being played out on the court didn’t involve any lay-ups, jumps shots, or triple-doubles, but rather, it was a fight against bullying. Ianni, 28, travels around the country and speaks at various events as an anti-bullying advocate for his “Relentless Tour,” a grassroots initiative designed to help eradicate bullying. Read the full article...

Anthony Ianni, of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights and one of the most sought after anti-bullying motivational speakers in the region, is presenting at the fourth annual Michigan Autism Conference in Kalamazoo. The conference, set for Wednesday through Friday, Sept. 14-16, will provide families, practitioners and researchers with the latest information on a variety of topics related to the assessment and treatment of autism. Experts will come from across the globe to talk about the most effective scientifically proven treatments for children with autism. For more information check out the website...

Anthony Ianni, the first known athlete with autism to play Big 10 basketball, was the featured speaker for an anti-bullying rally on Friday, July 22 at Allegan’s Riverfront Plaza. The event was hosted by Bryce Frost, an Allegan teen who founded the “Stop the Bullying Now” campaign after he was bullied for being on the autism spectrum. You can read more on this story from the Allegan News...

The Relentless Tour, a state–wide anti–bullying initiative, made its way to schools in Delta County November 10. Anthony Ianni, a member of multiple championship basketball teams at Michigan State University and a National Motivational Speaker for the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, offered words of inspiration based on growing up with Autism Spectrum Disorder. He also sent a strong message to kids about bullying. “Just be careful what you say and do to others, because you never know who that person’s going to be in life,” said Ianni. “They could be the next LeBron James, Miguel Cabrera, Mike Trout, whoever.” “When Anthony speaks about the bullying, we see how the kids really look at him, and we hope that they can take this with them into their communities and their home, and we can combat bullying,” said Kelly Constantino, Sault Tribe Youth Education Services and Activities Coordinator. This was the second time some of the students at Gladstone Junior High School got to hear Ianni’s words of wisdom. “I just want the kids to remember that they’re part of a family here,” Ianni added. “They’re part of the Gladstone Braves family for life. I could tell that great things are going on here at Gladstone Junior High, and I hope that these kids carry on that change forever and ever, and hopefully when they’re older in their lives, they can try and make the same impact that they’re making today in their town.” The Relentless Tour kicked off in the state capitol in mid–October, and has since featured the likes of people like Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley and MSU Basketball Coach Tom Izzo spreading the anti–bullying message. Read the article...